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Sunday Swatches: Foundation Files - Estee Lauder Double Wear

Sunday, 23 April 2017

Fourth in my series of Foundation Files posts is this requested review of the Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation which is has been a cult product for years and currently titled the "UK's number 1 foundation".. today we will find out if it really is worth the hype!

left: without flash; right: with flash

left: without flash; right: with flash

My skin

For this particular swatch session my skin seemed to be more shinier and red on my nose than usual which, is perfect for showing a fairly matte full coverage foundation like this!

PackagingThe packaging is in a nice thick frosted glass bottle which can be slightly tricky to tell the true colour, but definitely luxe-looking with the gold logo and lid. Unfortunately no pump dispenser so application can be tricky/messy, however I've seen people online recommend using it with this pump, which would make life much more easier!

ShadesNew shades have been added, so there are now 44 shades!!

When I first went to check the Double Wear shades a couple years ago, I went to a counter and matched myself to 3W2 Cashew, which seemed like the perfect shade.

Unfortunately the foundation oxidised on me and I felt like I resembled an NC42 (MAC) when my most tanned shade is NC35-37, so it became a makeup kit addition of course and was well used there.

I recently attended an event in Carnaby Street where I was able to get myself shade matched with an ingenious machine and it matched me to 3W1 Tawny (the next shade down from Cashew) and also 2W2 Rattan. These were the shades I matched myself to online this time around, knowing about the oxidisation, so I was pretty impressed at the machine's accuracy!

2W2 "Rattan": great for NC30 complexions I'd say

3W1 "Tawny": good for NW or NC30-35ish complexion

From the swatches above, you can see Rattan is definitely the yellowest out of the two of them (even though they're both "W" warm shades).I feel like Rattan matches my Winter skintone (NC30) best, however it gave me major flashback at a recent event which made me look ghostly in the pictures unfortunately!This is usually due to SPF and this foundation contains SPF 10 which is good for everyday wear of course, however not great if you're going to take flash photography.Tawny seems to make me look less scary with flash but is what I'd consider my Summer tanned skintone (NC35) in natural daylight; it has a pinker shift to it than Rattan so may also be good for NW30-35).As mentioned in my Armani foundation post, my undertones are mostly yellow but have pinkness around my nose which can make it look like I have some neutral undertones but I am in fact yellower.

CoverageThis is a full coverage foundation, but described as a "medium buildable" foundation. I prefer using it with a beauty blender so that the coverage is a bit more sheer/medium.

FinishAfter it has dried down from initial application, it dries to a fairly matte finish, although it is described as a semi-matte. I'd say this foundation is best for oily skin although all skin types could probably wear this (i.e. dry skin types can mix with moisturiser or wear a very hydrating primer on under this). This foundation can feel quite heavy if you're not used to wearing foundation, when I first got into makeup and didn't ever wear foundation it felt way too heavy and drying.Now however, with my combination skin/oily nose, I appreciate the finish much better!

Texture: Quite arunny texture but buffs seamlessly with either a beauty blender or buffing brush; doesn't set straight away so you have time to blend.Hides my freckles and beauty spots very well.

Longevity

Estee Lauder claims it has a "15 hour staying power"

I've tested this a couple times and at the aforementioned event I attended, I only powdered my nose with Soap & Glory Kick Ass powder once, when I noticed a bit of oiliness and it did the job to keep it "held-together" as usually my foundations separate around the oily areas of the nose.So it pretty much lasted the whole day for me which was around 12 hours.

PriceAt £31 (available here)it's fairly pricey; however, the price tag is definitely worth it if you have problematic oily skin that separates foundation when worn; I would highly recommend this for those who need full coverage for scarring as a daily foundation, however not for those taking flash photography!As there are 44 shades, I'd suggest popping into your local department store like John Lewis or House of Fraser to get a shade match as there are so many!

Overall rating: When I first tried this foundation a couple years ago I found it too heavy and drying for my drier skin back then.Now however, with my oily nose I appreciate this foundation so much more and love that it didn't separate after a whole days wear.. impressive!I'd give it a 5 if it suited all skin types worn alone, however overall I'd give it a 4.5

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Have you tried this foundation? What are your thoughts and experiences?

2 comments:

Hi I just entered a long comment and didn't post it!I hope you can answer please:)posting again here goes lol.I'm a an nc30 in Mac. I went to the Estée Lauder counter in boots got matched by the machine only once, and i think it was cashew. They didn't have a tester....so I went to another store. For some reason I walked out with a different saphade lol! I got 3w1 tawny instead of 3w2...But I tested tawny today, and it's quite a bit lighter...and I'm sure I have some kind of tan not that I could tell. If tawny is too light for me, should I go for ratten. I don't care about the flash back just need a good shade as Mac separates on my skin and doesn't look nice on me....I'm also 220 in Maybelline fit me matte and poreless. These are the only two shades I know match me and don't look bad in photos. As for this tawny shade,it doesn't look nice in picture makes me look to light or ashy....I'm British born and my origins are Asian...so really not sure why tawny is light on me lol. I took it 3 different rooms one natural light too...hopefully someone can help, I don't fancy going back for another shade match or test as it turns out to be much of. A hassle!!!!

The lady never even mentioned ratten to me....I just saw it now in your page my friend was with were both of same background but I don't want my foundation to be her shade as she has even mentioned she likes it that shade.Thanks for any help:)